Month: September 2017

Australia’s Jube Bikes take inspiration from iconic rides of the ’70s and ’80s and then blends in a mix of signature super-wide rims, re-engineered frames, wikkEd graphics and retro paint jobs. The result is a line of e-bikes that appear (I have not had the opportunity to throw leg over a Jube) to be functional, fashionable and fun. Unlike America’s Super 73 (that hits the fun goal and misses the functional goal), Cannondale’s Moterra (misses the fashionable and hits the functional) or Mike’s backyard conversions (that miss everything including rider…

Calling Harry Dean Stanton a character actor, as so many obits are doing, is short selling the career of a phenomenal actor who was anything but a simple caricature. Harry Dean played roles that are forever etched into our collective memories and will be remembered long after many leading men’s roles are forgotten. Harry Dean may be best remembered to movie goers as the alien sprouting Brett in 1979’s Alien. But it will be his performance as Bud in the 1984 Repo Man that goes down in my book as…

When you pull into the dirt parking lot of Black Mountain Cycles (some riders carry their bikes to avoid a dusting), you don’t expect this humble little shop to be run by a totally over-qualified guy named Mike Varley. I met Mike when he was the shop manager (and a mechanic) at North County San Diego’s most respected bike shop. It didn’t surprise me when he left the shop to work for Haro Bikes and Masi as a bicycle product development manager. The guy is sharp and I believe both…

The phrase “running when parked” (RWP) is code for a once treasured possession that has been neglected in the corner of the garage or tool shed for far too long. Lacking the energy, time or resources to bring the little beauty back to life, the owner lists it for sale in hopes that a new owner will massage it back to health. Our collection of RWP bikes fall into two distinct categories; treasure or trash. And you are the only one who can properly judge which category the bike belongs…

The Rungu Juggernaut is a very strange vehicle. While its inventor is quoted in an Outside article as saying “This is not a bicycle. This is an ATV [all-terrain vehicle],” their website claims their three-wheeled, electric-motorized vehicle is “the most powerful portable off-road EV in its class.” They go on to define “its class” as “electric fat bikes available online in the US as of December 2016.” Confusing yes, but what isn’t confusing about the Juggernaut? The company claims the trike was invented to haul surf gear to the Trestles…